Presumed Dead
by ForIHaveTakenOverTheWorld
Summary: Shoto Todoroki had just disappeared one night. There was not a word, not a trace- nothing. The class was never the same without him. What happened to young student? The heroes had given up hope but class 1A never did. [Tododeku]
1. Chapter 1

**Just a little story, hope you enjoy. :)**

**Instagram: aetherium_arts**

**Bold- Author's note**

_**Italic-**_** Thoughts/emphasis**

***~/0\~* - Time skip**

*~/0\~*

It had been a cold winter's night when Midoriya noticed that Todoroki Shoto had never come home that night. The lack of the half and half boy left an even colder feeling through him that only Shoto could thaw.

"Has anyone seen Shoto?" Midoriya asked entering the dorm's common room, the room went silent and all attention turned to him.

"Worried about your boyfriend? Join the club.." Kirishima snickered lounged over the sofa.

"Yes I am, he's not here, he never came back after school," He wrung his hands nervously.

The room shared looks with each other. Todoroki was a mysterious figure that not many knew much about. Midoriya was the one to draw him out of his shell and the pair had fallen helplessly in love. It was clear there was something regarding Todoroki they kept between them, a sensitive issue that would have Midoriya muttering softly to him sometimes to comfort the other.

Iida broke the silence, "You sure he hasn't just gone home for the night to see his family? He has a few siblings, doesn't he? He might be just homesick."

He shook his head, "He wouldn't go back without telling me.. I think something's wrong."

"Stupid Deku-" Bakugou muttered under his breath before being cut off.

"Perhaps go and see Aizawa if you're worried, but I'm sure he's fine bro," Kirishima smiled softly pulling his partner close.

"Yeah.. I'm sure I'm overreacting. Thank you, I'll go see him," Midoriya headed off again out the dorms.

"This _is_ quite unlike Todoroki to disappear," Iida commented and everyone silently agreed.

*~/0\~*

A hesitant knock rang out in the silence of Aizawa's room bringing his attention away from the computer lighting up the dark space. An exasperated sigh passed his lips and he opened the door to see the shorter boy quite clearly overcome with anxiety. "What is it trouble child?"

"I haven't seen Shoto since school," Midoriya kept his eyes trained on his shoes fidgeting nervously.

"So you think he's gone missing because you haven't seen him in a few hours?" Aizawa raised his eyebrow with slight scepticism lacing the teacher's tone.

"I've tried contacting him to no reply. Trust me Sensei, I know Shoto well enough to realise this is odd."

Worry seemed to enter Aizawa's face and add a few years to his appearance. He massaged his face. "I'll have the police head to his house and report him as missing if he doesn't return by the end of the night."

"Thank you Aizawa-sensei-"

"And don't leave this building tonight, none of you kids."

"..Understood."

Aizawa waved off the young hero back to the dorms, grabbed his phone and had the police visit the Todoroki household.

That day was the last day anyone saw of Todoroki Shoto.

*~/0\~*

Nothing was ever quite right after that night. The common room always gave the lingering feeling of someone missing, the class never felt complete- his empty desk becoming a painful sight for all. It had been a month. There was not a word, not a trace, nothing. Out of them all Midoriya had been the hardest hit by his disappearance. He wandered the halls of UA like a ghost and only took part in activities when prompted to.

"Midoriya seems quieter than usual," Iida frowned looking ahead at their friend walking numbly through the halls.

Uraraka watched after him sadly, "It's been a month today.."

"Ah, I see," The two went quiet and entered the classroom to take their seats. A few minutes later the bell rang signifying the start of class and Aizawa stood at the front of the room.

"Has there been any news yet?" Kaminari was the one to ask today, that same fateful question that had been asked every day for the past month. The thought weighed heavily on their shoulders on this day in particular, the anniversary laying an unsettling silence over class 1-A.

The stress had also clearly taken its toll on Aizawa, he had prominent dark bags hanging under his eyes, sluggish movements and a weary look about him. "There's still been no word," The words choked out. "As it's now been a month the agencies have decided to stop their active searching-" Immediately the class began to rise up and protest and Aizawa cut back in. "They decided they must focus on more recent matters but will keep an eye out when searching."

"That's not good enough! How they just abandon someone like this?" Kirishima banged his hardened fists down on his table.

"The agencies don't have the funding for the constant searches so have decided to pull out. As of this day, Todoroki has been announced missing and presumed dead."

The ruckus died down upon hearing those words. The thought was already on all of their minds but hearing them just made the reality hit home hard. Midoriya looked on, life drained from his face, not having the strength to utter a word.

"Trust me, not all of us are giving up. Most of the teachers here- me, Present Mic and All Might especially- are still looking. His father is still out and funding his sidekicks too. So don't look at me like that.." Aizawa sat down at his desk and rubbed an exhausted hand down his face. "Finish off the work we started yesterday."

Everyone reluctantly got out their work from yesterday and attempted to finish it off. Unfortunately, no one's mind was in the right place for it so it was to no avail.

A sharp scrap of a chair stole everyone's attention as Midoriya rose from his seat, head hung low. He mumbled a broken apology before rushing out of the classroom. No one moved to stop him, it wasn't the first time.

This was going to be a long day.

*~/0\~*

The day did indeed drag on. After dinner, Midoriya had decided to take a walk to be alone in his plaguing thoughts. He was just arriving back at the dorms when he saw it. The dimly lit courtyard had cast a dark shadow over a collapsed silhouette propped up against the stairs.

"Hello? Who is that?" Midoriya cautiously navigated the poorly lit courtyard and approached the figure which didn't budge or respond to him. Upon no indication of consciousness from the shadowed body, he reached out and tugged the cold lifeless arm aside which rolled the body onto its back.

"Oh my god.." Midoriya's knees gave way and he slid down to the floor. "No, this isn't happening," He bundled the boy before him into his arms and brushed the grubby red and white locks out of his face. "Shoto..? Shou, can you hear me?" The unresponsive boy's head lulled to the side and Midoriya's fingers fumbled around to feel his pulse. "No no no, come on Shou, please come on, you're fine! You'll be fine!" The panic only seemed to skyrocket as his fumbling fingers couldn't land on a pulse wherever he seemed to check. "Come on-!" His voice broke and the tears came flooding in as racking sobs as he crumbled over the lifeless body in his arms. Reluctantly placing Todoroki down onto the floor, Midoriya started clumsy chest compressions in a desperate attempt to bring him back.

"Come on! Stop messing around! Baby, please... Please don't leave me" Trembling hands cupped the half and half's cheek as he held him close as tears slid down his cheeks, giving him a final kiss.

The heart-wrenching sobs seemed to stir everyone in the near vicinity out into the courtyard, Aizawa- being the first to reach the pair- quickly ordered the teachers to make sure not one student left the dormitories before slowly approaching Midoriya, as one would a startled animal. Getting closer he realised his worse fears had come to be a reality yet, he knew he had to be strong for his students. Swallowing down a large lump in his throat he gently touched Midoriya's shoulder. His cries only became more anguished as he clutched the limp body close to his chest. The teacher's barrier seemed to buckle and tears slipped down his cheeks.

"Midoriya.. please," He moved a hand to try and coax the body from him but he recoiled back, clinging to him like a lifeline.

"Get away!" He screamed out.

"Izuku-"

"Don't touch him! Don't take him from me again!"

Noticing Midnight approaching in the corner of his eye, Aizawa sighed in relief. He signalled for the R-rated hero to sedate the boy- it was his only option as of now. "I'm so sorry, this is my fault I should have protected him better," Aizawa held Midoriya close to his chest while keeping his scarf covering his airways. Tears slipped down the underground hero's cheeks as Midoriya's thrashing died down and he went slack in his arms. Aizawa kept his head tilted to the night sky as Midnight came to take Midoriya off him and away from the area.

"I'm so sorry. I failed you."

*~/0\~*

It only got harder from then on. You'd think it'd get easier knowing where he is, but it wasn't. At least before you could hold onto the shread of hope that he might still be alive. Now the harsh truth was blazing in your face, Todoroki Shoto was dead. Your last hope shattered to pieces with an open casket housing a boy too young to be there, too full of life and passion. While a quiet boy a determined one. Even with his awful upbringing, he still managed to get up every day and train to be a hero to save people. That was his passion. Yet his life was cut short by the people he wanted to protect the powerless against.

The death hit hard on everyone. A time most often thought of as 'the best and happiest days of your life' were filled with mourning and gloom. This was the startling truth of becoming a hero. You would get hurt, you would lose people. So long as there are villains, the world will never be safe.

Class 1-A didn't get over it quickly, some never fully came to terms with it, some- Midoriya- were never the same again. Nevertheless, the incident fuelled each and every one of them with a roaring flame. They would become stronger and protect their friends- nothing like this would ever happen again. They'd do this for Todoroki and themselves.

Two months on the class found themselves caught up in a commotion downtown. They had been out on a trip to talk to the community when a group of villains had decided to attack the shopping district. Everyone broke off into small teams to work on exacuating the citizens caught up in the ruckus while the pros dealt with the major problem- being the villains.

Midoriya had broken off with Iida and Uraraka and was making his way towards a small boy trapped under some rubble.

"Don't worry little guy I've got you, keep talking to me alright? That way I know you're okay," Midoriya smiled reassuringly to the boy and started shifting the rubble off of him, being extra careful when getting closer to his body. The boy whimpered in pain but didn't have the energy to speak.

Midoriya moved along quicker and moved the lasts bits off gently and scanned him over. "Where does it hurt?"

The boy mutely gestured to his right leg and hips.

"Uraraka! Iida! Over here!" He called over his shoulder before using some debris and rope to secure to the boy's leg. The two came running down the road.

"We'll take over from here, nice one Deku," Uraraka patted his shoulder and helped the boy get comfy on a stretcher. Midoriya didn't register the comment with his attention elsewhere, being drawn to a scuffle down the alley they were at the mouth of.

"I think there's someone else stuck down there," Without waiting for an answer he took off in a run towards the noise. "Hello? Is there someone down here?"

The source of the noise stumbled out around the corner and staggered towards him, leaning heavily on the wall. "Izu..ku..?"

The whole world seemed to shift on its axis and the noise around them fizzled out into a low pitch tone. Todoroki, the boy found dead, stood there before Midoriya, a mess, but there. Months of neglect meant his matted hair brushed his shoulders and the clothes he went missing in two months ago hung loosely on his skinny frame. He was filthy and wounded but a relieved smile touched his lips and his eyes glowed in the burning embers from the destroyed area.

Midoriya's face fell and his legs went numb. "Shou?" He willed his legs to move from their stiff position and his knees trembled as he broke into a run.

A weight seemed to shift off Todoroki's shoulders as his whole body went slack and pitched forward into oblivion. Midoriya fell to his knees and hurried to lift him into his lap.

"Warm.. you're warm," Fingers moved to grasp his wrist and he felt the weak thrum of a heartbeat beneath them. "You're alive, you're alive! Holy shit," A grin spread across his lips as he burst into tears, laughing in disbelief. He held his lost partner to his chest and clutched him tightly afraid he'd disappear again. "You're here.." Laughing turned to sobs. "I thought I'd lost you, I had lost you," Kissing him repeatedly he shakily got to his feet and made his way back out of the alley, all the while calling to anyone who could hear.

The pros had finished up already and the police were left to cart of the incapacitated villains. Iida, Uraraka and Aizawa waited at the end of the alley upon hearing Midoriya's cries.

"Is everything alright Midoriya? Ah there you are," Aizawa rubbed his head tiredly as the boy came into sight. "That another victim? First aid area is down the road-"

"Sensei," Midoriya cut him off as he pointed down away from there. Aizawa took in his state and his eyes travelled down to the teen he carried closely.

"Is that.."

"You can see him too?" He cried happily.

"That can't be right, I buried him," Aizawa numbly moved the hair away from Todoroki's face. "I buried him,"

"He's here Sensei," Midoriya seemed to be the first to come around. "He needs medical attention straight away."

Aizawa shook away his daze, still not quite with the situation and ran off down the street with the kids in tow.

*~/0\~*

"He seems to be extremely malnourished and dehydrated. Alongside that, we have an extensive array of half-healed broken bones, lacerations, burns and bruising- among other things if we're just generalising. We have placed him under an induced coma for now as it seemed the best precaution." The nurse reported to both Aizawa and Enji Todoroki.

"Thank you, that'll be all," Endeavour waved the woman off preoccupied with his own thoughts.

The nurse hastily bowed and hurried off to continue her duties. Aizawa didn't wait to send a message to Present Mic regarding the situation for him to tell the students before heading into the room.

Upon first glance, Todoroki seemed to blend into the white sheets around him- if it wasn't for the startlingly red hair contrasting against the covers it'd be hard to see him. The big bed made him seem much smaller and frailer, his sheet-white skin stretching tightly over his bones- wrapped up in bandages and casts in varying places.

"You poor lad," Aizawa seated himself beside the head of the bed and kept watch over him protectively. He wouldn't fail one of his students again, this was way too close a call.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Instagram: aetherium_arts**

**Bold- Author's note**

**Italic- Thoughts/emphasis**

***~/0\~* - Time skip/ break**

*~/0\~*

"Damn Kaminari, dude ate all my soba," Todoroki muttered under his breath, kicking an innocent rock flying down the path. Todoroki had come back that day from school looking forward to a nice bowl of cold soba when the electricity hero had admitted to eating it. His mouth was already prepared for the soba so he wanted to head out and get some more.

It was a nice day for a walk anyway, the sun had just started to set early as per usual for winter evenings, and the clouds that had gathered trapped a small amount of heat beneath them- not that temperature was a problem for the 'half-hot, half-cold' boy.

Todoroki headed for a nice Japanese store nearby to get some more premium soba noodles than he would usually have, may as well treat himself. It didn't take long to carry out the business, pick the noodles up, pay, and off we go again. He decided to take the longer scenic route home. Even though Todoroki was a lot more open now it was still nice to have some time to himself; being late afternoon there weren't many people out- making it even more enjoyable. Walking up the last stretch of the street before reaching the dorms Todoroki felt a chill shoot down his back. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he scanned the area suddenly feeling on edge.

He was about to pass off whatever made him feel that way when an arm shot out of the shadows and wounds its way around his waist multiple times.

"What the- hey-!" The words became muffled as a sweet-smelling cloth covered his mouth and nose, filling his airways with the chemical aroma causing his eyes to roll back into his head and his body to go slack. He fell unconscious and slumped back against his apprehender in a matter of seconds.

*~/0\~*

By the time the fog cleared from his head and the darkness subsided, Todoroki found himself suspended from the ceiling by a pair of manacles secured tightly around his wrists. The room was small and damp with no windows or visible door. It was completely sealed off leaving no noise but the clink of chains and drips of water.

Panic started to set into the young hero as the situation began to settle in his mind. Someone had kidnapped him.  
Struggling against the thick metal circling his wrists came to no avail and nothing appeared as he summoned both quirks. His feet scrabbled for purchase on the stone floor but it was just too far and the tips of his shoes only barely scraped it.

Eyes darted around the small claustrophobic space looking for anything as he struggled against his binds, using the wall as leverage to pull on them.

"My my, you're going to hurt yourself doing that."

Todoroki's eyes shot up as an outline of a door formed and a man pushed the stone wall open like a door and stepped in.

"Quite a useless quirk don't you think, I can make a door out of anything. But I suppose useful if you fancy waltzing into a bank vault and helping yourself," A twisted smirk spread across his lips turning the corners up. "But that's not something you would do, right, _hero, _heroes only do good. Or, so I thought." The smirk soon disappeared and turned down into a scowl as his hand shot out and grabbed Todoroki's chin. "You should know that best, being the son of that bastard Endeavour, huh?"

The situation dawned on Shoto as it became blazingly clear. "This is about my father then. Of course it is. Lucky for you I'm nothing like him. He's no hero of mine."

"Oo somebody got daddy issues~?" The man's long fingers let go of his chin and trailed up his face. "You'd make a fine villain boy. Especially so with your quirks, destructive things them, how can you ever help anybody with them?"

Todoroki yanked his face back looking disgusted. "Get your hands off me, as if I'd ever be like you-"

The villain cut him off by grabbing his face again tightly. "Nothing like him huh? You think you're so special, filthy rich and entitled brat. Think you're above me because you're a hero?"

Todoroki winced as the sharp nails dug into his cheeks. "I don't resort to stealing or ruining other people's lives to better myself off. I want to use what I was gifted to help people. Those who are like that are beneath everyone," He spoke through his teeth only to be rewarded with his head being driven back into the solid wall with a sickening crack.

"Do you think I've always wanted to be 'the lowest member of society'. Don't you think I had dreams as a child, I could've used what I had to be a rescue hero. Life is cruel, life stamps on your dreams and spits on them. Life took my parents from me and heroes didn't do enough to save them. Your father didn't do enough! He gave up and didn't care, he looked down on me as a mourning child and told me to stop crying and grow up. He is no hero, there are no heroes. Only people masquerading for fame and money."

A shiver travelled down Todoroki's spine as he heard the words that felt so close to Stain's view. He looked up at him blearily but no words came as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You disgust me. You parade around just like your father condemning people like me. I'll make you suffer for what he did to me so in turn, he does too."

"Because you can't... can't do it to him yourself," Todoroki muttered over the ringing in his ears. He knew he should just keep quiet but always fell short when it came to his sarcastic rebellious side from growing up under his father.

"You brat!" The man brought back his fist and swung it at Shoto's face, fuelled by his anger.

Shoto's head flew to the side and dropped down onto his chest.

The villain left growling dangerously and sealed the room back up again.

*~/0\~*

The man, who he later came to learn was called Atsuo, never seemed to leave him alone for long. He spent hours at a time in the room taking his anger out with beatings, waiting while he was knocked unconscious for another round when he woke up. Todoroki could say he was used to it, after years of relentless training with his father, but it was getting harder and harder to keep his pain quiet. His head never seemed to have the chance to clear and he was slowly losing grip.

Atsuo was also getting impatient, no matter how many hours he went at the boy he never seemed to break and it was starting to get to him. He found it time to switch to other methods, more brutal things he had seen but never carried out, so while Todoroki was unconscious yet again he dragged a sturdy chair beneath him and transferred him to it and secured him there and waited.

*~/0\~*

_Again, really... this is going to cause some permanent damage if I keep getting knocked out._ Todoroki slowly came too, his wrists feeling relieved to not be holding his body up. The only problem now was that they were clamped down on armrests.

"You're awake again," Atsuo stated with some excitement lacing his words. _That can't be good. _"I think its time our friend Mr Plier comes out to say hello."

Todoroki's eyes widened in fear as Atsuo advanced on him, he started to thrash against the chains that never loosened their grip.

"Don't be so scared~, this is going to be fun! Only for me I suppose though," A manic giggle came from the villain as he clamped the pliers down on the base of his index finger and started to pull and twist, slowly breaking the finger.

Screams weren't held back as they filled the room from the young boy.

"Yes! Yes! Scream louder!" Atsuo released the grip of the pliers and looked at the shivering kid before him. "Oh, this was fun. Can we go again please~" He reached out and grabbed his hand and Todoroki started to fight against him more violently, terrified in having to go through it again. "I think this time... we'll go for the thumb!"

Todoroki paled further, "Please, please don't," He started to plead weakly.

Atsuo only spared him a glance as he repeated the motion on the thumb, and then onto the rest of the fingers on that hand.

Todoroki had screamed himself hoarse as his shivering only got worse from the shock.

The man knelt before him and cupped his chin suprisingly gently. "Oh my boy, it's only going to get worse."

*~/0\~*

There was definitely one thing that could be made certain, Atsuo was true to his word.

Days began to seep into each other, hours feeling like years as Todoroki remained in the room for over a month, undergoing varying forms of torture from Atsuo. The only form of sustenance he received was water and very small amounts of food every other week. Along with the physical pain from Atsuo, Todoroki's body was painfully wasting away, lips chapped, mouth and throat dry and his muscle and fat diminishing down to nothing. About halfway into the month, he had almost escaped- almost. He had managed to get his skinny frail wrists through his manacles and got out of the room when Atsuo was careless to leave the door open to psychologically torture him by tasting freedom. He made it to a large room and heard the voice he'd come to know too well and a foreign one. Letting curiosity get the better of him he looked into the room and ended up getting caught, but not before seeing the stranger take someone's dead body and use his blood to form them into an exact replica of him. He ended up being careless in shock and making a noise and Atsuo found him. The worse part of it all was when he decided to hold his ankle down and stomp his foot down on his knee, easily breaking his leg and leaving him screaming in agony.

Over the next month, it all continued. Hope that someone, anyone, would rescue him had faded. He dreamt that he had been rescued many times only to wake up and still be in the nightmare. It began to eat him up, he had been abandoned by the people he held dear. They had abandoned him and left him to something worse than death. Everything became numb, pain was the everyday norm, he had lost any drive to keep fighting. There was no will left that eventually Atsuo had stopped restraining him.  
Bones tried to heal and were replaced with more, open wounds became infected and never seemed to close up. By the end of the second month, Atsuo became bored, Todoroki became broken and he lost all satisfaction and ended up leaving him there.

It wasn't until the disaster in the shopping district that he found some will.

The place where Todoroki was held happened to be in the same area and when an explosion went off nearby, it was beside the building and destroyed part of the wall. Not being restrained any longer he dragged himself over to the hole and found himself in the chaos of the attack. Following vaguely familiar shouts and stumbling down the alleyway, he found him.

"Izu..ku..?" Through his bleary vision, he saw the familiar mop of green hair he had painfully longed to see for months. _This is all fake, it's all just a dream. Your friends have abandoned you. _His mind was too shrouded to pay any mind to the voice inside it and he allowed a relieved smile touch his lips just to see Izuku again. The green blur started to move quickly towards him and Shoto let everything go and slumped down into him.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Instagram: aetherium_arts**

**Bold- Author's note**

**Italic- Thoughts/emphasis**

***~/0\~* - Time skip/ break**

*~/0\~*

Midoriya had been at Todoroki's bedside for the week since he found him and brought him to the hospital. His whole being ached to just talk to him, for everything to go back to how it was before he went missing. He was diagnosed with an extensive array of broken bones, wounds, internal damage and malnourishment and the doctors had put him under to take the strain off his body to allow him to recover. It hurt Midoriya to see most inches of flesh covered by bandages and casts, monitors and wires a mess all over and an oxygen mask covering half of the face he just wanted to cradle.

"Midoriya?"

The green-haired spun in his chair to look over at the speaker, a young woman with red streaks in shoulder-length white hair. "A-ah, Fuyumi, good morning," He cracked a small smile.

"I'm not surprised to see you glued to his side as soon as visiting hours started." She chuckled softly and gave him a soft smile, rubbing his shoulder.

"I still can't quite believe he's here, I lost him for months, went to his _funeral_, and suddenly here he is.. I couldn't be happier. I just can't help feel I'll only lose him again," Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck and wiped away stray tears.

"If its any constellation I spoke to the doctors before I got here, they only had good things to say about his improvement."

"That's.. good, really good," A slight smile shone through his tears and he turned back to Todoroki to stroke his forehead.

"He might wake up too, they're slowly taking away artificial support so he can do it himself," Fuyumi dragged a chair up to the bedside and sat down.

"Then he can come back to school, continue training to be a hero," _With me._ The words went unspoken but lingered in his mind. "Do you think your father will ever come and see him? He's been here a week and he hasn't shown his face since he was first brought in."

A frown turned Fuyumi's features downwards. "He has been busying himself with work recently, he doesn't get home until late at night. I know they've had a.. rocky relationship, but I would have hoped he would have tried to come."

An unamused snort sounded from the boy. "I know what went on with Shoto and your father, he told me," His jawline hardened as he clenched his teeth thinking of his partner's previous child abuse.

Fuyumi's words died on her tongue ashamed. "I should have protected him better, I already know that."

Midoriya turned away not wanting the conversation to continue.

"It doesn't matter about him right now, do you want a coffee?" Fuyumi got up again quietly, taking some change out her purse.

He answered with a shake of the head and his eyes remained fixed on Todoroki.

"Natsuo said he was going to try head down today at some point, keep an eye out," She gave a strained smile and went off to go get coffee.

*~/0\~*

_If I never got knocked unconscious again it would be too soon. I'm starting to get real tired of this. _Todoroki's eyes fluttered slightly under their lids as if trying to break free from the darkness. His eyelids felt as if they'd been glued shut and a sense of sound was slowly seeping into his consciousness through what felt like gallons of water. He could eventually make out soft muttering which felt close by but miles away at the same time. The voice was soft but broken, full of pain and void of passion. A sharp pang laced his chest at the familiar voice.

_Izuku._

His mind was screaming at him to reach the voice but the darkness rendered him obsolete. It felt like layers over him, crushing him, making it impossible to move.

_So weak. Get up and fight. _The painstakingly well-known voice of his father filled the space. _You're being pathetic Shoto. How can you beat All Might if you can't even get back up and fight back? _

Oh how he wished he could punch that arrogant face in. Wading through the blackness Todoroki struggled to surface from the unconsciousness holding him down. His face twisted in frustration and a pained whine escaped his lips as he broke free from the suffocating darkness and bleary eyes met a bright white ceiling.

A chair clattered to the floor and green hair immediately filled his field of view as the distraught face of his partner stood up to see him. Distraught melted into tears as his body racked with sobs and crumbled over Shoto.

"You're awake, oh my god you're awake," A smile came through all the tears as his eyes remained fixated on Todoroki. "I can't believe you're here," His scarred hand came up to meet his chin and a crooked thumb brushed over the prominent cheekbones.

Shoto's eyes searched Izuku's desperately having lived through this dream too many times, only to be thrown back into that small cell alone.

Izuku cradled his face between his hands with lips trembling. "I lost you, I believed you were dead for so long.."

The heart monitor began to rise as panic filled Todoroki's eyes as he weakly struggled against him.

"H-hey, Shou calm down baby, it's okay I've got you," His voice cracked in pain as he watched the other fight against him terrified.

It didn't take long for doctors to arrive and force the two apart in an attempt to settle the boy while doing their various check overs.

All Midoriya could do was watch while clutching his aching chest.

*~/0\~*

"He doesn't seem to be stable right now, whatever happened to him while he was gone is still impacting him mentally. By the way he is struggling and the injuries I would say he was kidnapped. He doesn't grasp the concept of being free from there, in his mind, he's still captured."

From his seat down the hallway, Midoriya could overhear the conversation the doctor was having with Endeavour.

"When will he be.. normal again?" The blunt ignorant answer from the pro hero caused a flinch in the younger hero.

"There is no telling when or if that'll be-"

"If?" Enji's voice boomed through the hallways interrupting him. "You're a doctor so fix it, what use is he to me broken?"

"S-Sir there is no easy fix to the effect of trauma on a _child. _Your son has evidently been tortured and held captive for more than a month."

"He is my masterpiece."

"He is a child." The doctor retaliated through his teeth. "The healing progress is delicate and slow, especially in such a serious case. Whoever did this inflicted deep wounds, broke bones and left him to starve. It's doubtful he'll ever be right again."

A snarl tore from the fire user as he pushed the man aside. "You're all useless."

Midoriya had heard stories from Todoroki about his father but to see his actions himself was spine chilling. To see he be so insensitive and uncaring about his son's state angered him immensely. _And this man is our number one hero._

*~/0\~*

Not being able to see Shoto was difficult. His room was made off-limits to anyone but hospital staff after his freak out with Midoriya when he woke up. All he wanted to do was hold him tight and say everything would be okay, he just wanted to be with him after being separated. He continued to show up every day after school until visiting hours ended, before going back home and repeating the same routine daily.  
It was about ten days later when the doctor acknowledged his presence and came out to him.

"Izuku Midoriya, yes?" His mouth was set in a fine line as he studied him head to toe.

"Yes..?"

"Young Todoroki is asking for you."

Midoriya was out of his seat in a heartbeat, green light crackling around his legs.

"You must be calm and not do or say anything to trigger a panic attack. Understood?"

"Yes sir, just please let me see him," He wrung his hands nervously anxious to see him.

The doctor let out a sigh and brought him into the room then left them to some privacy.

Todoroki was propped up slightly by his bed looking pale and frail as ever. His eyes drifted up to the green-haired boy and sniffed back tears. "You're here."

"I never left, I've been here all this time for you-"

"You abandoned me." The accusation was outright and his betrayed filled eyes bore deep into Izuku's sole.

"Abandoned? I'd never abandon you Shoto, none of us did."

"Then why was I left there for so long? I was in so much pain! I was alone and being tortured!"

"We never stopped looking for you Shou, all the teachers and our friends never gave up... we never did until we found a body that looked like you," Memories came flooding back to Izuku and he couldn't stop the tears now free-flowing.

"Body?" Todoroki suddenly remembered the stranger using his blood. The body that looked exactly like him. "They sent that body to you..?"

"Do you think we'd just give up on you? What else were we supposed to think when I found your dead body in the courtyard!" He cried.

Todoroki flinched violently but had no answer.

"I went to your funeral Shoto, I stood there as they buried you six feet under. I cried, I held your friends and siblings as they cried. What hope was there when your grave stood as a stark reminder you were gone and that it was our fault." Tears were streaming down Midoriya's face.

Todoroki swallowed back the lump in his throat and slowly pushed the covers aside and placed his two bare feet gingerly on the floor to stand. The hospital gown drooped down around him loosely and his boney legs trembled under his weight and its healing bones.

"Hey, no no don't get up," Midoriya gently took his weight and sat him back down in bed. His throat continued to burn with shed tears as he took in the scarily small stature of his partner. "We're going to be fine."

Todoroki looked down in a daze attempting to pinch his skin. "It hurts, you're.. really here?" His hand moved up to hold Izuku's head as his face cleared and his mind came to.

"Of course I'm here Shoto."

"I'm free? I'm not trapped there anymore?" His fingers moved up to ghost over his unbound wrists.

"You're free and safe back with me again. No one's going to touch you again, I'll make sure of that," Midoriya was careful in how he grasped Shoto's hands gently but reassuringly.

The half and half boy's bottom lip began to tremble before breaking down into tears into Midoriya's shoulder.

He held him gently in his lap and ran his crooked fingers through the long unkempt hair and hushed soft words in his ears to soothe him.

Tiredness eventually caught up to Shoto as the tears started to run dry and eyes drooped down asleep peacefully shrouded in Izuku's warmth.

*~/0\~*

"I want to go in now." Endeavour's loud voice was back again and stirred Midoriya from his nap cuddled around Todoroki. His arms and legs had wound themselves around him protectively and Shoto's head had nuzzled into his neck under his chin. He realised moving could wake the boy so he decided against it to give him precious rest.  
By the sound of what Izuku could hear it sounded as if Enji was trying to get in to see his son but the doctors argued against it because of his.. demeanour.

Izuku was just about to settle back down and carry on his nap when the door slid open and crashed against the metal frame, making both kids jump and look over at the disturbance.

"What are you doing," The pro-hero growled as more of a statement than a question. "You're taking advantage of my son? Get out of the bed with him, who do you think you are?"

Flustered heat settled on Izuku's cheeks as he stuttered for an answer.

"Izuku Midoriya, my boyfriend," The bleary-eyed son stared over at his father challengingly but was trembling under the sheets.

"Your _boyfriend. _I knew you were being pathetic but I didn't know you were completely broken." Flames rose higher and licked angrily at the white tiles of the ceiling.

"Sir you can't be like this in here, his recovery is a sensitive process. You're going to have to leave-"

"Don't even dare stop me," The flames reached out towards the doctor and moved him back as he advanced on the two kids in bed.

Midoriya's adrenaline was now pumping through him as he shielded Todoroki with his body. "Don't come near him, you're not ruining this-"

"Out of my way pest," Enji cut him off with a solid back-hand to smack him down out the way and picked up Shoto by a clump of gown and wires in his large hand. "I have no need for you anymore, all those precious years of training down the drain." He grasped one of his arms, fingers completely closing around it and held just too firmly.

Shoto's face contorted in pain as he struggled from his father until there was a crunching feeling in his bicep under Enji's iron grip bringing forth a scream.

"There's nothing left anymore but a broken toy." Shoto was discarded to the floor and Enji looked at him like the scum beneath his shoe before leaving.

**TBC**


End file.
